


Hold On Tight (Don't Let Go)

by RavenOfHope



Series: Life Moves (Way Too Fast) [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Harry Potter, Bigotry & Prejudice, Boys In Love, Bullying, Fluff, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter to the Rescue, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Mild Angst, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Ron Weasley Bashing, Severus Snape Lives, Severus Snape is not a jerk (anymore), confessions of feelings, hand holding, sorry Ron I'll make it up to you in another fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:33:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22482664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenOfHope/pseuds/RavenOfHope
Summary: An especially hard blow knocked Blaise' head back into the wall, nearly knocking him unconscious. His vision blurred and blackened around the edges. He lost his balance and fell to the ground prompting his tormentors to use their feet rather than their fists.“What is going on here?!”, an all too familiar voice sounded furious from just a few metres away. Maybe he shouldn't recognise that voice so easily.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Blaise Zabini
Series: Life Moves (Way Too Fast) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1729285
Comments: 19
Kudos: 739





	Hold On Tight (Don't Let Go)

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. No money is being made with this work. Similarities to other fanfiction is wholly coincidental.
> 
> So this has been sitting in my folder for a loooong time. So if you notice a slight change in writing style half-way through, it's because I didn't work on this for over a year until recently.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! I'm always open to constructive criticism, so let me know what you think.
> 
> Prompts/requests are always open at the moment. Check my profile for fandoms I write for.

Blaise didn’t know where to go. His back touched the cold stone wall of the corridor and he was surrounded by hostile people from all sides. He didn’t show his fear of course. Years of wearing masks perfected the ability to show little to no emotion no matter the situation. The people who surrounded him were students. Students, he had shared years of classes with and with most he didn’t exchange more than one or two words over the years. Insults flew around him, at him.

“Slimy snake.”

  
“Death Eater scum.”

  
“Disgrace of Wizarding kind.”

  
“Bet you got off on torturing.”

  
The insults came first. They were harmless. He could take insults. His mother’s various husbands liked to insult him. They were pathetic really. But opposed to public opinion they all died without his mother's involvement. They often saw him as threat to their virility as ridiculous as it sounded. No matter their relationship he was always more important to his mother than her husbands and they didn’t dare lay a hand on him.

  
But these kids, they were keen on using their fists. In a duel or in a brawl he could hold his own. He wasn't so arrogant to think that he wouldn't need to protect himself without his wand. This was different. He had left his wand in his dorm and he was alone against about 15 people with wands determined to show him “his place”. Led by Weasley of course. Being friends with Harry Potter had blown the ginger’s inflated ego to epic proportions. Said Boy-Who-Lived wasn't with the mob. Blaise didn’t think he would be. After years of watching him, Blaise knew a fair bit about Harry. He knew things not even Granger or Weasley knew, he was sure.

  
But Harry probably didn’t even know his name. Not that Blaise cared. It was his goal after all. Being left alone with an invisibility that protected his neutral status. They didn’t really know anything about him. They just saw his Slytherin robes and assumed. Assumed that he was a Death Eater, a pureblood fanatic, a murderer, torturer. It hurt in a way, the treachery, the bigotry, the prejudices. They didn’t know anything about him but judged him for something he didn’t have any control over.

  
Seeking help his eyes wandered to the people at the outskirts of the group but there wasn't any sympathy. The corridor around them was deserted. Sure enough the first fist flew. Weasley, frustrated from Blaise’ lack of reaction, abandoned the petty insults and struck Blaise in the jaw. After that it was open season.

  
Blaise gave as good as he got but he was hopelessly outnumbered. An especially hard blow knocked his head back into the wall, nearly knocking him unconscious. His vision blurred and blackened around the edges. He lost his balance and fell to the ground prompting his tormentors to use their feet rather than their fists.

  
“What is going on here?!”, an all too familiar voice sounded furious from just a few metres away. Maybe he shouldn't recognise that voice so easily. The shock of being caught made the mob move away from him giving Blaise the opportunity to try and sit up. He winced at the pain but pushed himself into a sitting position, nonetheless.

  
Breathing shallowly, he tried to take in what was happening around him. He saw that a few had tried to run from the scene, but an invisible barrier stopped them short. People moved away from him clearing a path for his saviour.

  
Harry looked absolutely feral, his magic crackling dangerously around him and his eyes glowing with seething anger as he looked at the people around him. “There's no way for you to get out of here. I’ll take Blaise to the Hospital Wing and we will inform a teacher of what happened. I'm sure you will be punished accordingly,” he informed them coldly, the temperature dropped around them making his displeasure known.

  
Blaise breath caught in his throat as these unbelievable emerald eyes met his chocolate coloured ones, Harry’s gaze softening. Weasley was yelling something about betraying them and only doing the right thing or some such nonsense as the raven-haired boy crouched next to the Slytherin and eyed his visible injuries with anger. Anger directed completely at his (former?) friends and allies, Blaise realised with a start. Harry was angry on _his_ behalf. The realisation caused a funny feeling inside his chest that he didn’t want to investigate further at that moment.

  
“Can you stand up?”, Harry asked him, concern colouring his voice. Blaise nodded and with Harry’s help managed to stand up. The Gryffindor immediately slung his arm around Blaise’ waist, conscious of his injuries, to steady him. The close proximity and the warmth radiating from Harry did weird things to Blaise’ insides but he ignored it in favour of not trying to stumble while walking – or rather limping – down the hallway. They passed the invisible barrier without problem, only a small, warm tingle of magic alerting the Slytherin that it was there at all.

  
Weasley tried to follow them, only to run headfirst into the barrier. “Traitor! How can you take the side of a Death Eater over that of your best friend?!”, the redhead shouted enraged. If at all possible, Harry became even angrier after that and if looks could kill Ronald Weasley would be six feet under as Harry looked at him over his shoulder, cold fury radiating from his eyes.

  
“Blaise is no more a Death Eater than you or me. His family has been neutral for centuries,” Harry declared with confidence surprising Blaise with his knowledge about the Zabini family. “As for picking a side,” the raven-haired teen continued with an icy glare, “I'd pick anyone's side over that of a bigoted bully every day.”

  
With that he turned around and coaxed Blaise gently into moving again. Ignoring the shouts from behind them, the two teens walked in comfortable silence. Harry was supporting Blaise almost effortlessly despite the half-Italian being at least five inches taller and having a not inconsiderable weight with his Chaser physique. It occurred to Blaise that Harry had been holding out on everyone with what he was hiding under that baggy clothes of his. Not that he was complaining, people lusted after Harry enough as it was.

  
They met Professor McGonagall as they slowly descended the stairs to get to the Hospital Wing. “What is the meaning of this, Mr Potter?”, the stern witch demanded to know, looking between the two of them. “Ronald Weasley and about 15 other students ganged up on Blaise under the wrongful impression that they could, excuse my language, beat the living crap out of him because he was supposedly a Death Eater which is not true of course. I trapped them inside a ward on the first floor where it happened so none of them could escape their punishment,” Harry explained calmly with Blaise nodding when the Headmistress looked at him.

  
“And how do you fit into this?”, McGonagall asked Harry after staring at them in disbelief for a few moments, digesting the information. “I saw what was happening through some windows and tried to get there as fast as I could. Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough to stop them before they started punching and kicking Blaise so I'm taking him to the Hospital Wing. If it’s alright with you, we will answer all your questions later after Madam Pomfrey had a look at Blaise. I think they got his chest pretty bad,” the Gryffindor replied with a worried undertone that surprised Blaise.

  
“Yes, of course. Be assured that I will deal accordingly with Mr Weasley and the others. I will talk to the two of you later,” the Headmistress said, her Scottish accent seeping through in her anger. The two boys nodded affirmatively, and teacher and students parted ways again.

  
Blaise with Harry helping him continued the way to the infirmary. “Thank you,” Blaise said quietly after a few metres of silent walking. Harry looked at him for a moment, an expression in his gaze that the Slytherin couldn't decipher, before answering dismissively, “It's nothing.”

  
“No, it’s not. It's not nothing. You could’ve just...”, Blaise replied quietly before cutting himself off. “Could have what? Looked away? Joined in? No, that's not who I am. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. It's that kind of bigotry that caused the war in the first place and I could never just idly stand by when someone is beaten, especially someone I...” Harry’s voice was laden with emotion, barely audible at the end before the Gryffindor cut himself off but Blaise still managed to catch it all.

  
“Someone you, what?”, he questioned, kind of hating himself for the hope fluttering in his chest. He had long since resigned himself to the fact that he preferred his own gender and particularly a certain green-eyed, dark-haired Gryffindor. Nobody knew about that but himself and he had kept his mask firmly in place whenever he had encountered Harry which, mind you, wasn't all that often.

  
Now though with Voldemort dead, everything was different. Unfortunately, they had reached the Hospital Wing and Harry left Blaise’ inquiry unanswered. “Do you want me to stay?”, he asked instead, releasing the half-Italian from his grip. Blaise answered with ‘yes’ before he could think twice about it and he blushed at his impulsive answer, not that anyone could see it with his dark complexion.Harry simply smiled at him reassuringly and together they entered the Hospital Wing.

  
Madam Pomfrey immediately began bustling around them after they told her what happened. She diagnosed Blaise with a mild concussion from banging his head against the wall and one cracked rib besides some scrapes and bruises which relieved all three of them. 

  
The matron healed the minor injuries with a flick of her wand and a bit of bruise salve before giving the Slytherin potions for his pains. Blaise was to stay in the infirmary until the next day in case something popped up. The whole time Harry sat silently on a chair beside the bed Blaise had been situated in. Pomfrey didn’t try to throw him out so he offered Blaise his quiet support.

  
The Medi-Witch left after she was done and began to write up a report. Blaise was left alone with Harry who looked at him with visibly mixed emotions. The Slytherin could still see traces of anger but he also looked tired. There was something else, but Blaise couldn’t put his finger on it.

  
Just as the Gryffindor wanted to say something, the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Professor McGonagall strode in. She tried to keep her face neutral but her eyes radiated fury. Her gaze softened as she looked at Blaise and Harry. She walked to the foot of the bed and looked at her students. “I found the accused students as you said trapped in a perimeter ward. At first, they tried to deny their actions but as I told them that you both already told me what occurred, Mr Weasley began yelling all kinds of things that I won’t bother to repeat.

  
“Everyone involved lost fifty points from their respective house, losing Gryffindor three hundred, Ravenclaw two hundred and Hufflepuff one hundred and fifty points for unprovoked attacking a fellow student. I also informed their parents and they will serve two months of detention with Mr Filch, Hagrid and Professor Snape,” she told them with a heavy sigh.

  
“I won’t stop you if you want to press charges, Mr Zabini,” she added looking at Blaise, but he just shook his head. “It’s not worth the hassle. They were punished, and they won’t have it easy with their detentions,” he said with half-smirk. The Headmistress held his gaze for a few seconds before nodding. “Very well. You will probably get a visit from Professor Snape later after I informed him of what happened,” the boys nodded, and Professor McGonagall turned to leave.

  
“Before I forget: one hundred and fifty points to Gryffindor for standing up for a fellow student without ulterior motives, for helping said injured student and a flawlessly cast perimeter ward, and one hundred points to Slytherin for not using violence when faced with violence and for standing above your attackers by not seeking vengeance and compensation,” she said and left with a small smile as she saw the slightly baffled faces of the two students.

  
Blaise and Harry were left in silence.

  
The Slytherin watched the other male, while Harry looked at his hands, a defeated slump in his shoulders. “Don’t let this get to you. It wasn’t all for nothing. Once school is over, you can use your fame that you hate so much, to make things better,” he reassured the Gryffindor. Harry looked up in surprise meeting Blaise' eyes.

  
“How...?”, he breathed sounding rather speechless. “How do I know what you're thinking? How do I know that you hate your fame? How do I know that you hoped to change things for the better?”, Blaise smirked and shook his head. “I have watched you for a very long time, Harry. I have...”, he was interrupted by the doors to the Hospital Wing opening again and Professor Snape entering with his black cloak billowing behind him.

  
He first looked at Blaise in the bed before his eyes wandered to Harry who held his gaze. The stare-off continued for a minute before the Potions Professor looked back at Blaise. “I was already informed of what transpired and I know you do not want to file charges. However, as your Head of House, it is my duty to file an official report. Will you tell me what happened?”, the Head of Slytherin House inquired almost seeming sad at having to ask.

  
Blaise closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again and looking at Harry. The Gryffindor nodded encouragingly and reached out to gently squeeze his hand. When he made to pull away Blaise reached out and captured the hand holding it in his own. Harry seemed startled but relaxed quickly and gave him a small smile.

  
Snape watched the exchange silently taking out a Dicta-Quill and notepad. The young Slytherin took a deep breath and told his Head of House what happened after he was cornered by his classmates. Harry's hand in his gave him the strength to get through it. From time to time he could feel Harry's magic starting to flare in anger and every time Blaise reached out with his own magic calming him down. He could see that Snape noticed the interaction, but he didn't care.

  
Once Harry told his side of the story, Professor Snape nodded and tucked the quill away. He looked at the two of them for a moment. “Now that I have the _official_ story, what really happened Harry?” Snape’s face was neutral, but his voice had a softness to it. Blaise blinked, surprised. Looking at Harry, he saw the Gryffindor blush, a small smile playing around his lips. “What gave it away?”, he retorted seeming amused. “That part of the corridor is not visible through any windows,” Blaise answered instead, realising what his Head of House was getting at.

  
Harry’s gaze flickered to him for a few seconds before meeting Snape’s eyes. “Very well, I was actually studying the Marauder’s Map, that’s a map my father and his friends invented showing the grounds of Hogwarts and everyone on it,” he explained for Blaise’s benefit. “I want to recreate it, for Hogwarts and other places like the Ministry. Anyway, I saw on the map how Ron and his fan club surrounded Blaise. Ron… he’s been changed since the war. I mean, we all are, but he took a turn for the worse. So, I hurried there as fast as I could, but they’d already hurt him then I got there.” Harry’s voice was raw with emotion and Blaise squeezed his hand.

  
The Slytherin was surprised by how much the incident seemed to rattle Harry. The Gryffindor always seemed so strong with fire in his veins and steel in his eyes. Like a force of nature, he had fought for everyone. _Maybe that’s it_ , Blaise realised. Harry had fought for _everyone_. For everyone to live without tyranny and fear only to realise that his best friend, the boy – _man_ – who had been on his side since that first day, was becoming the very thing Harry fought against, what he despised. With the fodder of fame and admiration, Ronald Weasley turned to bigotry and bullying to keep it. He would soon find that it would not get him very far at all.

  
Immersed in his thoughts, Blaise didn’t notice Harry and Professor Snape’s talk ending until he heard the door to the Hospital Wing shut. Turning to Harry, he saw the Gryffindor watching him. They were still holding hands, but Blaise was disinclined to let go. If this was the only opportunity he got to hold Harry’s hand, he would take it. “I’m sorry,” Blaise said, and he hoped it implied everything he wanted to say. I’m sorry I could never support you. I’m sorry that you had to go against him for me. I’m sorry you had to lie.

  
Harry just shook his head. “It’s not your fault.” He says it like it’s that simple. Maybe it actually is. Emerald green eyes were watching him, and Blaise hoped he didn’t look as stupidly in love as he felt. They may have never really interacted before this day but the Slytherin still felt like he knew Harry. Knew his hopes and dreams, his fears and weaknesses just by watching him all those years. Now the Gryffindor was watching him back seemingly coming to decision. Blaise could tell by the way he squared his jaw and the determined glint in his eyes.

  
“Someone I like,” Harry blurted out a faint blush rising on his cheeks. “What?”, Blaise responded confused. “On the way here, that is what I wanted to say but was too scared to. I couldn’t let this happen to anyone, especially someone I like. A lot.” The blush was now stretched across his cheeks and down his neck. Something in Blaise desperately wanted to know how far down that blush went. When the words registered, Blaise’ eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed speechless doing a very accurate impression of a fish.

  
“You…”, he finally choked out wondering if he was somehow transported into a dream. His still smarting ribs told him otherwise. Harry was looking at him earnestly. “I know this is a bit sudden given we have never really talked before. But you said you’ve been watching me, and I was watching you back and now I was wondering…” Harry took a deep breath and seemed very hard to try not to fidget. His fingers gripped Blaise’ hand a little tighter like he was afraid the Slytherin would let go.

  
“Would you accompany me to Hogsmeade tomorrow? As a date?” Harry mumbled the last three words, but Blaise still caught them. His brain stalled. Harry Potter wanted to go on a date with him. The boy he had a crush on was asking him out.

  
“Yes!”, he almost shouted before slightly coughing and saying in a more sedate tone, “yes, I’d love to go on a date with you.” He smiled warmly at the other boy until his breath was stolen as the most beautiful smile overtook Harry’s face. It was slightly crooked, and it was all for Blaise. The Slytherin promptly resolved to make Harry smile like that a lot more often.

  
Blaise knew, he probably looked like a love-sick idiot in the wake of that smile, but he couldn’t care less. The loss of his composure was well worth having Harry at his side – his smile making his heart flutter, their hands intertwined between them.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this fic! It's longest I've finished so far. You can find me on Instagram (@lara.raven) and Tumblr (@fantasy-n-stuff) if you want to chat! :)


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